Engine temps

[bigrob]

What is an average normal operating temperature for these cars? I am sure there will be a large variance. The reason I ask, is my car gets to about 90-95 degrees & the fans come on & keep her there in traffic, until I get moving and they drop down to around 80. Does this sound about right. Are these temps too low for my fans to be coming on? These numbers are with the outside temp at about 75 degrees.

Thanks!!

[Steve Gallegos]

Rob, my engine does the same thing, it's a stroked 351W. The difference is mine has a/c,the fan is always on. The temp runs about 95C. What is your engine make? I have been told by many builders that it's ok for these engines to run that hot, they don't worry until they get up to 110c, about 220 to 230F.

[NorCal Cobra]

Rob,

BDR's have had issues with the dual cooling fans not pulling enough air resulting in high engine temps. I may be wrong, but I believe that they now have a single SPAL fan on their new cars that pull much more air.

Other BDR dealers also offer replacement for the old dual fans. Check with Vintage Motorsports. They are ALWAYS extremely helpful whenever I have called them.

Hope this helps.

[Tim Brewer]

Well, I don't think you are talking farenheit are you? Average farenheit temp is around 180- 200 degrees. Does your gauge say celsius?

[bigrob]

Originally Posted by Tim Brewer

Well, I don't think you are talking farenheit are you? Average farenheit temp is around 180- 200 degrees. Does your gauge say celsius?

I do not know....let me go and look........boy I AM an idiot!! I was thinking it was farenheit So what would 95 C translate into? I found it, it is 203 F. That sounds OK. I do have the dual fan setup. I will have to see how hot she gets in the nice blistering heat of summer! I have a K. Craft 306 crate motor in my BDR.

Thanks guys!!

[Roscoe]

I've got a single spiral bladed fan (puller). 351W, 40 over, AN 16 water lines and 180 thermostat. Motor runs between 165 and 180 under normal conditions.

Roscoe

[Bill Bess]

Rob, I live in Lake Havasu City, not too far from Vegas and we have the same "kller Temps." here....115 in the Summer and hotter. My car was running a little too hot so I did the following things to control the temps.
Installed a 190 thermostat in lieu of the ss orifice plate, built a fan shroud so the pull fan pulls through the entire fan area and replaced my gauge with one that reads in degrees. Now it runs a little hot in heavy traffic on hot days (200 to 210), but mostly stays at 180 to 190 and cooler while moving down the road.

Just not enough air moving through the engine compartment while in stop & go traffic....Oh well it's a Cobra.

Best of luck , Bill

[danc30]

What about oil temps? I am assuming around 80-90C is acceptable, right? What is the high end of acceptable?
482 FE SO

Mine gets up to about 100C when in traffic but goes down to around 90 while going down the road.

[mr0077]

Oil temps ought to be above 215F to boil off any condensate from the combustion process...mine run too low also.

[danc30]

So my 100C is OK (sort of) since it is less than 215 (212). I don't have a cooler either.

I will start looking at ways to raise it slightly to burn off the condensation. What is the high end # that is still OK without getting too hot?

215 F minimum to ??? F max

[mr0077]

I don't think I've ever seen anything on a safe upper limit on oil temp, but I would think 220-250/260F would be a fairly safe range. Someone out there must have some good input on this, good question.

[Rick Parker]

Those of you in high temp regions such as Las Vegas, Texas, and others would benefit from Redline Water Weter and distilled water. It will drop the temps almost 20 degrees. Leave the glycol coolant out when you use the above.

[Excaliber]

Any condensation build up in the oil will 'boil off or dissipate' well below the 'boiling point' and indicated oil temp if you give it enough time (30 minutes at continual operating temp should do it). Besides that the ACTUAL REAL oil temp is considerably higher than the gauge indicates. The oil is 'splashing' and 'under pressure' to some VERY hot individual areas of the engine. Like the heads and near the combustion chamber. Oil, like water, is designed to carry away this heat as well as lubricate. The ACTUAL REAL water temp is also higher than the 'average' temp reading on your gauge. But it is perfectly acceptable to read the 'average' and not worry about the 'momentary' spike in elevated temperatures as the oil and water travel through the engine.

[JBCOBRA]

I think Nascar engines are running 260-300 degrees oil temps? Oil should be hotter than the water right?
So, just beat that car as hard as you can and chances are you cannot hurt it.

[chas427fe]

Rick, when you use just distilled water and water wetter are you using some kind of anti corrosive and waterpump lubricant? Chas

[CHANMADD]

I looked this up which is the "flashpoint " for oils....IE the point at which it bursts into flame.Enteresting article!!
http://www.allsyntheticsgroup.com/ar...lashpoint.html